Census report shows Utah's poverty rate in decline

Utah's poverty rate is down, household income is up a bit and about 10,000 fewer residents are doing without medical insurance, according to an annual state-by-state economic status report released Tuesday morning by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The figures don't take into account such fiscal well-being factors such as skyrocketing gas and food prices, but in general poverty is down here and nationwide, hovering at about 12.5 percent, according to the 2007 Current Population Survey which tracks economic status indicators for the past calendar year.

The median household income here was up by a few hundred bucks, or by .07 percent. That annual income bump went unnoticed by most Utah households, which report in more recent surveys that they are paying that much more a month for gas and food price increases.

The number of Utahns without health insurance decreased to about 290,000 last year as more people signed up for government coverage such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The nation's median income rose slightly to $50,200, new government figures show.

As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2007 was $21,203; for a family of three, $16,530; for a family of two, $13,540; and for unrelated individuals, $10,590.